College Notebook: Williams notches ECC player of the week for U-Bridgeport

By BOB BIRGEHour Correspondent

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11:45 am EST, Monday, January 26, 2015

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College Notebook: Williams notches ECC player of the week for U-Bridgeport

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After scoring 20 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in Bridgeport's 98-74 victory over District of Columbia on Jan. 14, Norwalk's Willie Williams III was named the East Coast Conference men's basketball player of the week for the period ending Jan. 18.

Williams, who was 8-of-11 from the field, added five assists, five steals and one block while playing just 24 minutes to earn the award for the second time in three weeks.

Williams also was honored by the ECC on Jan. 5 following an 80-74 win over Dominican the day before in which he tallied 18 points and 17 rebounds, including nine of the offensive end.

Williams ranks second in the ECC in rebounds, averaging 10.3 per game and only trailing Gerald Beverly (12.4) of Daemen.

In last Thursday's 76-73 victory over Malloy, Williams recorded his third straight double-double with 11 points and a season-high 19 rebounds. He now has eight double-doubles for the season.

Bridgeport posted its third straight victory and took a 12-4 record (8-1 in the ECC) into Sunday's contest against Queens (N.Y.).

Williams, who played scholastically at Stamford Academy, is contributing 11.9 points per game, which ranks fourth on the team, for the Purple Knights.

• • •

Roger Williams freshman Jaylen Jennings, also a Norwalk native, earned his second Commonwealth Coast Conference rookie of the week award on Jan. 19 after averaging 10.0 and 7.0 rebounds in a 2-0 week for the Hawks.

In RWU's 63-54 victory at Curry, Jennings contributed 10 points, six rebounds, one assist and one blocked shot.

Two days later, he tied for the team high with 11 points and added eight boards and an assist in a 63-52 victory at University of New England.

RWU fell to 7-10 following an 80-67 loss to Salve Regina on Saturday.

Jennings, a former star at Notre Dame of Fairfield, scored 14 points in the loss and is now averaging 10.1 points per game, the second-best mark on the team.

• • •

Westport native and University of Vermont standout Mike Paliotta has been selected as one of 20 candidates nationwide for the 2014-15 Senior CLASS Award in NCAA Division I men's hockey.

To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as a senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence -- community, classroom, character and competition.

CLASS is an acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School.

Paliotta, who was a unanimous selection to serve as the captain of the Catamounts this season, leads the team in scoring with 23 points, which ranks second among all Hockey East defensemen and sixth nationally.

Off the ice, Paliotta has volunteered for the Make-A-Wish Foundation's Walk for Wishes, the Travis Roy Foundation Wiffle Ball Tournament and the College For Every Student (CFES) program.

The 20 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists later in the season and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot.

The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2015 NCAA Frozen Four in April.

Paliotta is set to complete all four years at Vermont after being selected by the Blackhawks in third round of the 2011 draft.

• • •

Westport native Janice Yang scored 48 seconds into overtime to give the Brown women's hockey team a 3-2 home victory over Yale on Friday.

Yang, a senior, also scored on Saturday in her final college appearance in her home state but it wasn't enough as the Bulldogs rebounded for a 6-3 victory at Ingalls Rink.

The loss dropped Brown to 5-16 overall and 2-12 in the ECAC.

Yang, who played scholastically at Choate Rosemary Hall, is tied for third on the team in scoring with four goals and eight assists for 12 points.

• • •

Former Weston phenom Kimmy Guerin began the dual portion of her sophomore season in the No. 1 singles spot for the Wake Forest women's tennis team and won her first two matches in convincing fashion.

Guerin, who played at mostly No. 2 last season, dispatched Samantha Maddox of the College of Charleston, 6-0, 6-1, then defeated Alice Garcia of Winthrop, 6-3, 6-4.

In her third contest, Guerin split the first two sets against Auburn's Pleun Burgmans, who is ranked 36th nationally, but the match was halted because the Tigers had already clinched the victory with a 4-0 lead.

Wake Forest (2-1) won its first two matches by 7-0 scores.

Guerin, a winner of four State Open championships at Weston, replaced junior Andrea Retolaza Andrade, who was mostly in the No. 1 slot for the Demon Deacons last season.

• • •

Norwalk graduate Rachel Smolinsky, who is a senior on the Southern Connecticut women's swimming team, swam the first leg on the Owls' team that won the 200-yard medley in last week's 140-83 victory over LeMoyne.

The quartet posted a winning time of 1:53.45 in a meet that took place in Syracuse, N.Y.

Smolinsky is gearing up for her final appearance in the Northeast-10 Conference championships which Southern Connecticut will host from Feb. 5-8.

As a junior, Smolinsky was the Northeast-10 Conference champion in the 400 yard medley relay and 400 freestyle relay.